benedict hebzog



(No Model!) 2 Sheets-Sheet 2.

B. HERZOG. VISIT REOO NG TYPE WRITING MACHINE.

No. 307,301. Patented Oct; 28, 1884.

INVENT F. BENEDICT I-IERZOG, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

VISIT-RECORDING TYPE-WRITING MACHINE.

EPE JIFIGATIGN forming part of Letters Patent No. 307,301, dated October 28, 1884.

Application filed November 13, 1883. (No model.) 7

To all whom it may cannery z:

Be it known that I, F. Bnunnre'r Hnnzoo, a citizen of the United States, residing in the city, county, and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Type- "Writing Machines, of which the following is a specification, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

The object of this invention is to provide a means by which a visitor at the usual place of business or other customary resort of any person while such person is temporarily absent therefrom, and has left no one in charge, may be able to record his name, state his business, or leave any desired message, so that it can be attended to immediately upon .the return of the occupant of such office, and thus avoid the necessity of a subsequent visit.

The object of this invention, furthermore, is to provide such a means, which shall also be convenient for use, cheap, simple, and compact in construction, and possessing such dura bility as not readily to get out of order or be damaged by any meddlesome persons, and by reason of its cheapness, compactness, and durability shall be desirable for all the uses to which such a recorder can be applied. A further object is to produce such a means which shall be so constructed that the name or message left remains hidden, if the operator so desires, to all except the person for whom it is intended, or his authorized agent.

It is evident that such an invention is very desirable to all whose occupation at times calls I them temporarily away from a customary resort during the usual hours of business of the rest of the community. Heretoforc the attempt has been made to meet this want by the useofseverallmake-shiftssuchas,forinstance, by leaving writing materials of some kind fixed in some conspicuous locality in the vicinity of the closed door pf such a temporarilyvacated resort or place of business. Among the objections to all of these plans are that the materials are inconvenient to use when so fixed; that they are likely to be removed and used by any passer-by; that they must be carefully renewed at frequent intervals; that the message must necessarily be limited by the small available space, especially so in the case of a subsequent visitor; that the message is open to examination by such subsequent visitor or by any passer-by, and that it is exposed and can be destroyed by any meddlesome person. All of these objections are done away with by my invention, which invention can be carried into practical effect in various ways", differing as to their respective efficiency according to the circumstances under which they are applied.

The following specification and accompanyin g drawings describe the type of instrument for carrying the invention into effect, which I prefer in most cases in which it is to be applied.

Figure 1 represents a general view of that portion of the instrument which is on the outside of the door, with certain portions of the first and second plates broken awayto exhibit the working of the parts. Fig. 2 represents a side view of the same. Fig. 3 represents a view of the working portions of the instrument with a front plate removed. Fig. 4 represents a top view of the instrument.

In Fig. 1, A represents, generally, a door, the panel ofwhich is of glass or wood. metal plate, in which there is a hole for the passage of the spindle K, a slot, J, in the lower lefthand corner, which acts as a guide for and allows of the vertical movement of the finger-rest I, and a curved slot through which can be seen the characters marked upon the second plate, which has holes through which pass the ends of the spindles K and L, and, as in the plate B, a slot, J, in. the lower left-hand corner, which acts as a guide for and allows of the vertical movement of the finger- Bisa rest I. D is a third plate, directly next to the door, and need only be large enough to protect the movement of the links G and H from accidental interference or friction. It has holes for the spindles K and L. E is a knob fastened to the end of the spindle K, and to it is attached a hand or pointer. F is the hand for pointing out the several letters or characters as it is turned either to the right or to the left by means of the knob E. G is a crank rigidly fixed to a step in the spindle L. H is a connecting-rod jointed to Q. I is apeg or Iinger-rest fixed at the extremity of H, and at right angles to it and the plane in which it moves. Its function is to move the rod H up and down when it is set in motion by the operator, and by so doing to turn the spindle Lto the right or left. J is the slot in both plates B and O and guides the reciprocating action of I. K, the spindle, passes directly through the door A and the several plates, and has a square shoulder at its front end, to which, as already explained, are attached the hand F and the knob E. Its back end is rigidly fixed to a wheel or a sector thereof, X, and is supported so as to revolve freely either by pin ends or by having it rest in eseuteheons ill and M. Its function is to'turn the wheel so that a given charactenupon its periphery shall coincide with a predetermined strikingspot upon the impressingroll V whenever the hand F is turned to a corresponding letter. L, the second spindle, placed a little to the left of K, has fixed to its front end the crank G, and to its back end a corresponding crank, O, and its function is to transmit the motion given to the crank G to the crank 0 through the intervening door.

In Fig. 2, M M are the escutcheons which help to support the spindles K and L.

In Fig. 3, N is the type-wheel or sector of a wheel, on the periphery of which are formed types, and is revolved by action of the spindle K. O is the rear crank, attached to the spindle L, and corresponds in motion to the front crank, G. l is a connecting-link jointed to 0, and Q Q, is a lever jointed to I, supported on a fulcrum, and carries the impressingroll \V and the paper-feeding mechanism. R- is the fulerum upon which it moves. S is a ratchet-wheel rigidly attached to the impress ing-roll V, and is made to revolve in the wellknown step-by-step motion by the ratchet V. T is a friction-wheel supported upon a spring, Y, and bearing upon the paper-drum or impressing-roll \V. S, T,V, and IV, together, form the feeding device. U and U are inkwheels, having on their peripheries a band of felt, which should be kept well saturated with the usual slow-drying ink. Theseink-wheels bear upon the periphery of the typewheel H, with which they are at all times kept in contact in the usual manner. V is a spring-pawl which, by moving the ratchet-wheel onecstep at every drop of the lever-arm carrying the impressing-roll IV, to which it is attached, ad-

vanees the paper strip, so as to give a clear space for the printing of the next letter. \V is the drum, of metal, or rubber covered, which supports the strip of paper tobe printed upon, and acts as an impressing-roll for receiving the impressions from the characters on the type-wheel N. X is a roll or paper strip, such as is commonly used on all printing-telegraphs. It is wound on a reel supported on a frame in such a manner that it can be easily renewed. Y is a flat spring, which keeps the frictionwheel T always in place. Z is a spiral spring, which holds up the crank O and the parts at tached thereto.

Having thus specified the parts of this visitpaper to the left.

recorder, it now remains to describe it in operation. 1

The normal position of the parts is as follows: The roll X of paper tape is so mounted on its reel as to revolve freely, and passes around guards placed to protect it from being soiled by possible contact with the characterwheel 'N and ink-wheels U U. It also rests upon the impressing-roll \V, andis pressed uponitbytl1efriction-\vheelT. The finger-restI is kept close to the top of the slot J by means of the tension of the spiral spring Z, which teir sion is transmitted through the set of links on each end of the spindle L. The hand or pointer is free to revolve in either direction, and in the scctorial form given its motion is limited by pegs, (not shown in the dra-wings,) which are placed so that the hand cannot be injured by being turned too far in either direction. It is also kept from revolving too loosely by reason of any overweight of any of its parts or from any other accidental cause by its constant friction against F, a serrated strip of metal. Upon or near the front plate should be placed a notice to visitors, directing the use of the apparatus, somewhat as follows: Spell out the desired communication letter by letter, by first turning the knob in either direction until the required letter is pointed out by the hand, and then, while the required letter is so pointed out press down the finger-rest in the corner, and repeat this at each letter. The hand and the type wheel are so attached to the spindle that whenever the hand points out a character the corresponding type upon the wheel is brought directly to a point that is always struck by the impressing-roll \V, when the lever-arm which carries the latter is raised by the depression of the other lever arm, which in its turn is moved by each depression of the finger rest. It is therefore evident that if the desired character is pointed out by the pointer, and it, while so pointed out, the linger-rest be depressed, the wheel will make an impression of the corresponding type upon the paper strip which is supported by and carried upward upon the impressing-roll. As soon as this is done and the finger removed from the rest, the drum is brought down by the recoil of the spiral spring Z. By the same drop the drum is also made to turn slightly to the left by means of the pawl V, which engages with one of the teeth of the wheel S, rigidly attaehed to the drum, and this sends the The apparatus is thus brought to its first position, ready for a second letter. This is repeated for each letter required in the communication.

It is evident that the form of construction given above is not essential to the operation of my invention. The form given is that pre ferred in many casesas, for instance, for use in most of the principal oflicebuildings in large cities, in which, as a rule, the doors are made with a large glass panel, and only the stiles are of wood, andin which, since, for ohvious reasons, the glass would frequently not be drilled, or, even if drilled, would often not be strong enough to support the weight of the apparatus, the wooden stile alone is available, and this ,is usually very narrow. This form is also preferred in all cases where the minimum of alteration or of damage is of importaneea's, for instance, in all leased oifices. In the form shown the only damage is the one small hole through which pass spindles K and L. It is evident that where this minimum of alteration is not a prime consideration the cost can be lessen ed and the construction simplified in many waysas, for instance, by making in the panel a hole large enough to admit of the free oscillation of the finger-rest I if attached directly to the lever-arm Q. It is also evident that instead of having the printing and indicating portions of the apparatus upon different sides of the door, as in the form shown, they might be combined in one instrument on the outside of the door, and the strip ofpaper, after receiving the impressions, need not even escape from the instrument, but may be automatically wound up by a coiled spring-reel in the usual manner. I prefer the form given only for reasons of safety to the apparatus. Again, the tape might be passed through a slit in the door after having been exposed to the View of the operator; or there might be two tapes, theone on the outside to be kept by the operator as a duplicate of his message. It is furthermore evident that instead of being'moved by direct mechanical action, the impressingroll may also be operated electricallyas, for instance, by causing either end of the lever by which it is supported to be attracted by an electro-magnet in any of the well-known waysthe circuit indeed being made and broken by the very knob to which the hand is attached. I prefer the mechanical means only for reasons of economy. Nor is it essential that the instrument be aiiixed to the door, as it can as well be placed on the walls, &c., provided only that it is so placed as to be readily seen by the visitor. Nor, again, is it necessary that the indicating and recording portions of the invention should be mechanically connected, as this may be done electrically as in any of the well'known printingtelegraphs.

That I claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A type-writing or printing mechanism, substantially as described, attached to one side of a door or partition, in combination with devices, substantially as described, for

operating the printing mechanism by hand from the other-side of the partition, the whole being arranged, substantially as described, so that the paper or printed matter is invisible from the latter side of the partition, but issues from the type-writing mechanism on the other side of the partition, substantially as described.

2. A type-writing or printing mechanism attached to the inner side of a door or partition, in combination with means, substantiallyas described, for operating the type-writer by hand from the outside of the door, and connecting eontrivances connecting thesaid means with the type-writing mechanism through the said door or partition, substantially as described.

3. The combination,with the type-wheel N, having type formed upon its periphery and mounted 011 the spindle K, of the knob or handle E, whereby the typewheel may be set by hand in any position, and a pointer or indicator, F, moving over a lettered arc to show what letter the type-wheel is set to print, together with the fingenrest I and the impressing-roll \V, operated thereby, for causing the desiredletter to be printed 011 the paper after the type-wheel has been properly set by hand, substantially as described.

it. The combinatiomwith the door or partition A, of the type-wheel N, spindle K, knob E, arm F, and the lettered are, together with the finger-rest I, the arm Q, mechanically connected therewith through the spindle L, and the impressing-roll IV, substantially as de scribed.

I11 testimony thatI clainithe foregoing as my invention I hax e signed my name,in presence of two witnesses, this 12th day or November, 1883.

r. nnnnnro'r HnnZoe.

XVitnesses:

CHARLES G. CURTIS, CHAS. H. DILLEY. 

